Meadows keeps word on fund for conservation

As the 2013 edition of Earth Day, that annual celebration of this big blue sphere we call home, fades into the rearview mirror, it seems an opportune time to direct our vision forward. Sadly, the view through the windshield seems a little grim these days, at least from an environmental perspective.

With our nation's ever-shortening attention span diverted by a slow economic recovery, saber-rattling in North Korea, political gridlock in Washington and recent events in Boston, a recent poll reported by the Huffington Post indicates that Americans are far less concerned about the state of the environment than they were in 1971, the year after Earth Day began.

According to the poll, only 39 percent of Americans today consider protecting the national environment "very important." Compare that to 42 years ago, when a poll commissioned by President Nixon indicated that 63 percent of the country called environmental restoration "very important."

The 21st-century pollsters concede that at least part of the reason for the wide ranging results may be related to differences in methodology between the telephone and in-person surveys of the 1971 polls and the online effort of this year. But they also believe the numbers do not lie - Americans are not as ecologically conscious as we used to be.

But there is some good news on the environmental front. Hard as it may be to believe during this era of partisan bickering, this good news comes from the nation's capital. That's where a bipartisan group of federal legislators is joining forces in an effort to help preserve the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Western North Carolina U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-Jackson) last week added his voice to the growing chorus of congressmen and senators demanding the funding mechanism for national conservation programs be repaired. The effort to restore full funding to the federal conservation coffers was launched by the state's senior senator, Republican Richard Burr, with Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, signing on shortly afterward.

Originally passed by Congress in 1964 and signed by President Kennedy, legislation establishing the Land and Water Conservation Fund directed $900 million from offshore oil drilling revenues to pay for conservation projects in national parks and national forests, fish and wildlife refuges and other public lands. Since the founding of the LWCF, however, Congress had repeatedly raided it, taking dollars that should have been gone toward important conservation initiatives and using them for other expenditures.

The fund is especially important to an area of the country such as WNC, home to a variety of natural resources worthy of protection. With Meadows' 11th Congressional District spanning a large chunk of that mountain environment, it makes sense for the freshman congressman to endorse efforts to ensure continued funding for conservation efforts.

"The 11th district includes parts of Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, as well as numerous state park units that have been protected by the LWCF," says Tim Gestwicki, chief executive officer of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. "These are the places we take our kids to teach them to hunt and fish, and to connect with the great outdoors. It's also where a lot of the economic vitality of our region is generated."

It's no secret that travel and tourism are a major part of WNC's economy, and folks aren't flocking to our mountains to experience suburban sprawl, take in views of mountaintops denuded by clear-cutting, or wade in streams clouded by sediment. By some estimates, outdoor recreation generates more than $19 billion in retail sales and supports 192,000 jobs across North Carolina.

While it would be easy to cast a Republican congressman's support of the conservation fund in solely economic terms, Meadows is living up to a campaign promise, says Jay Leutze, a trustee for Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. "While he was running for office, he said he would be a champion for the outdoor recreation economy, hunting and fishing access, and our mountain heritage," Leutze says. "By joining this effort, he has made good on his commitment."

And by joining the effort, Meadows also has given us a bit of positive environmental news as we look toward Earth Day 2014.

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Meadows keeps word on fund for conservation

As the 2013 edition of Earth Day, that annual celebration of this big blue sphere we call home, fades into the rearview mirror, it seems an opportune time to direct our vision forward.